Interview: Jamie DeerArticle: Jamie Deer, Jocelle KohSpecial Thanks/Photographs provided by: Universal Music Note from the translator (Jocelle): For all English speaking Jacky Cheung fans out there, you’re in luck! I’m very happy to be able to collaborate on this project with notable Taiwanese music journalist Jamie Deer, who has very kindly provided me with the rights to officially translate his interview with Mandopop King Jacky Cheung. It details the painstakingly meticulous work that went into Cheung’s latest album <Wake Up Dreaming>, inspiring fans with his motivation to attain nothing less than perfection. An album like none he has ever created before, its intricate concept will wow listeners, as will the pedantic details and personal motivations Jacky shares with Jamie in this exclusive interview.

<Wake Up Dreaming> is Mandopop legend Jacky Cheung’s phenomenal 57th album to date, and has certainly been a long time in the making. Inspired by Elton John’s live performance with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 1987, Jacky has fiddled with this album’s concept for over a decade, before finally taking the plunge and releasing this album last December. It seems to me that this album is not just a drop in a hat for the Mandopop king who was most recently nominated at the 26th Golden Melody Awards; it encompasses complex ideas even the king himself is hard-pressed to put into words. But what certainly comes shining through in this album is his admirable motivation to better his music for himself and for his fans, even given his status as one of the most venerable artists in the industry.

Q1: Can I get you to once again introduce your album <Wake Up Dreaming>?I spent a lot of effort in creating this <Wake Up Dreaming> album; other than taking on the role of artist in this album I was also the producer for this album, taking on much of the album with a hands-on approach. At the very beginning the concept for this album was to create an ‘orchestral and rock’ studio album but after creating half of it a couple of the songs were swapped for a few others which were a little different. The repetitiveness of the arrangement was just too much at that point, so the album and the genres everyone hears in this album are different from before. But there are a few songs which are more folksy, those were the songs I just couldn’t bear to not put in the album.So in conclusion <Wake Up Dreaming> is an album which represents my musical style, preferences and orientation, and is not an album with a very clear concept.

Q2: So at the beginning the album was meant to be produced as an ‘orchestral and rock’ studio album?At the beginning it was agreed that this would be the direction we would move in, but the things that we created began to become too similar to each other, even when I myself listened to it it really gave me pressure. I still wish that when everyone is listening to this album they can feel a little more at ease, with a little bit of different music entering their ears. So at the end I decided to divert from the original plan, and with this kind of modification, actually this is the direction I most love going in when I am creating an album.

Does the name Men Envy Children ring a bell to you? Well we wouldn't expect it to, but it'll definitely be leaving a lasting impression on your ears soon enough. Composed of Vince, Mify, Hanz and Kai, Men Envy Children are a unique addition to the Taiwanese music industry in the message they try to express. Their band name was inspired by a desire to dream without distractions just like little boys (and girls); a theme their debut album 'Everything' is built on. For each of them, music is not what brings in the money (they are all from different professions), but it is a dream that they are determined to work towards no matter what.

We chatted with the band about their history, the themes of their album, and the messages they had for listeners.